


Cornered

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-11-21
Updated: 2002-11-21
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Prequel to "Happy Holidays"





	1. Cornered

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Cornered**

**by:** Evelyn 

**Category/Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Rating: YTEEN**  
**Disclaimers:** Aaron Sorkin owns everything except Tallulah.  
**Notes:** Special thanks to Shelley for her usual fabulous editing.

* Here's what I don't know...if Josh and Donna are already together. 

* Here's what I do know: If they aren't, they will be soon. 

But I love the idea of a surprising plot twist!! So in this FF, I had some fun and decided to write the backstory of how they got together last summer...just in case Mr. Sorkin needed some suggestions. Enjoy!!

"I'll see you in a couple of hours, right?" Donna stood in the doorway to her boss' office.

"You're leaving now? It's only six o'clock," Josh Lyman looked up from a desk cluttered with papers.

"Do you want your laptop programmed or not?" she asked with a smile. "I need quiet and space to load all your files, add the ethernet card, upload the software..."

"Ok, ok," he waved her off, clearly unnerved by all the techno-speak. "I'll be over around 9."

"8, Josh, I'm starved, plus it's just possible that, wandering by Charlie's desk today, I scored an advance copy of 'Episode II: Attack of the Clones', a video that was sent to the President but which he won't be able to watch until the weekend," she grinned, waving the black videotape in the air.

"Yes!" he pumped his fist in the air. "I'll be there with the pizza at 8."

"The green pepper, mushroom pizza," she amended.

"The half green pepper, mushroom, half meatball pizza," he corrected. "You got any beer?"

"Of course."

"The real stuff," he warned. "Not any of that lite crap."

"I only buy the real stuff for you, Josh, and once we move the table and chairs," her voice dipped slightly on that last part.

"What? Oh, no, Donnatella. I'm not moving anything else. You've been in that apartment six weeks and all we've done is shift furniture around...no way, no, no, no."

"It's just a small table from my downstairs neighbor who's moving. It won't take more than five minutes and doesn't weigh more than...than five pounds."

He looked doubtfully at her, continuing to shake his head, 'no'.

"I've got chocolate chip cookies in the jar," she wheedled.

"Yours or the store-bought stuff?"

"Mine, Joshua. Pizza, manly beer, Star Wars, and home-made chocolate chip cookies, all in exchange for helping move one small table and two chairs," she bargained.

"What kind of chairs," he asked suspiciously.

"Two dining room chairs that we could actually sit on while eating from real dinner plates," she offered.

"I'd rather have paper plates and not move more furniture," he grumbled, but waved her off in good-natured defeat.

Two hours later, the buzzer sounded in Donna's new apartment. Located on the top floor of a three-story townhouse, the small, airy three-room apartment reflected the taste and personality of its new occupant. The royal blue sofa was well-worn. It actually had belonged to Margaret's grandmother, but Donna had salvaged it when she helped the Chief of Staff's assistant pack up the older woman for her move to Florida. Donna had added a bright patchwork quilt over the back of the sofa for color and to hide the thinning material. A club chair with ottoman, found at a curb in Georgetown, waiting for a trash pickup, had been slipcovered in a small, floral print of yellows and blues, and sat cater-corner to the couch. Donna had taken to wandering through more expensive neighborhoods, trolling for discarded furniture treasures, and cajoling Josh into lending her his SUV and strong back for her rescue missions. 

Donna hit the release button and opened the door to her apartment. She peered over the railing and watched as Josh trudged up the three flights, carrying the flat pizza box, his backpack slung over his shoulder, his jacket cradled in the corner of his elbow. It was early August in DC - prime muggy weather. He looked up and saw her face as he started the last flight.

"You didn't ask who it was," he frowned.

"I knew who it was," she smiled.

"Doesn't matter. You gotta ask," he insisted, as he arrived on her doorstep, slightly breathless, and with his curly hair damp around the edges.

Donna took the pizza box from him as he dropped his backpack in the corner, tossed his jacket on the oak coat rack, and flopped down on the sofa. She quickly headed to the kitchen and returned with a cold bottle of Sam Adams beer, which was gratefully accepted.

He took several long swigs, wiped his brow with the back of his hand, and reached to open the pizza box.

"Stop! Mrs. Martin is waiting for us."

He scowled.

"Come on. I even moved the chairs already" and she pointed to the two ladder-backed maple chairs that sat against the wall, with a space in between, where the table would go.

"I thought you were working on my laptop?"

"I'm efficient. I did both. Come on," and she tugged on his hand pulling him to a stand. "Mrs. Martin goes to bed early."

"It's 8 o'clock," he grumbled.

"I know, but she's elderly and likes to get settled for the night," Donna explained soothingly, pulling him to the steps.

"You know some people just go to a store and buy furniture and then actual delivery people move it," he grumbled.

"Mrs. Martin wants somebody to have the table who really will use it. She's moving in with her daughter, who doesn't want it, and since I'm taking Tallulah..."

Josh stopped in his tracks. "No. You're not taking that....that..."

"She can't go with Mrs. Martin. Her granddaughter is allergic." She grabbed his hand and pulled to start him moving again.

"I'm allergic."

"No you're not. You just don't like cats, but that's not the same thing as allergic. You don't wheeze when you see cats, you just complain. Besides, Tallulah is old and sweet."

"She's a cat," he whined. "I hate cats."

"Actually no you don't. You just say you hate cats."

"I know if I hate cats or not," he muttered, as Donna rapped on the door to the apartment below hers.

After exchanging pleasantries with the elderly woman, and watching Donna fuss over the black and white furball who eyed him suspiciously, Josh deliberately picked up one end of the maple drop-leaf table, and cleared his throat. 

"Thank you again Mrs. Martin. I'll come by on Monday evening and get Tallulah," Donna smiled at her neighbor, picked up the other end of the table and followed Josh up the stairs.

"This weighs a ton," he complained.

"It's hard rock maple. They don't make 'em like this anymore," Donna sighed, as they navigated the stairs, and slid the table into its space in her apartment. She stepped back to admire it, moving into the kitchen and returning with a vase filled with colorful dahlias, which she placed in the middle of the table.

She turned to find Josh, once again ensconced on the couch, reaching for the pizza box.

"Thanks so much, really," she said, flopping down next to him, and reaching for her own slice.

He glanced around the room as he ate, a small dribble of tomato sauce dotting his chin.

"It looks good," he said, waving around.

Donna beamed. "I love it. I can't believe I almost lost this place."

He looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I thought you said that Ed's cousin what's-her-name sublet it to you."

"She did, but she needed a fast answer and I had one, but then I had to take that week to rethink it because of the Boston thing, so she gave it to a couple, who were thrilled, but then they unexpectedly got transferred, so it turned out I got it after all," Donna said, the words slightly jumbled as she interwove bites of pizza with her explanation.

Josh looked even more puzzled. "What Boston thing?"

Donna paused before taking another bite of pizza. "A couple of months ago, Representative Frank offered me a job running his Boston office. I turned him down, but while I was making a decision, Stella, Ed's cousin, offered the apartment to this other couple."

"Barney Frank offered you a job?" Josh sputtered. "He's a Democrat and we're in the middle of a campaign."

"It wasn't for now. Sarah Bolton who runs his Boston office is pregnant and due in November. He was offering me the job for after the election."

"He's betting on the President losing?" Josh fumed.

"Of course not. Why would you say that?" 

"Because doesn't he think you'd be working for me after we won?" Josh demanded.

"He was offering me an option," Donna said softly.

Josh carefully put down his pizza. "How long did you have to think about it?" he answered in a low voice.

"About a week. I...I decided that I wanted to stay in DC even if we lost. I'd find another job here."

"You don't think we're gonna win?" he asked incredulously.

"I do," she insisted, "but at that point the polling numbers were bad and... things were complicated... and I just needed to think things through."

"But you never said a word to me," he snapped.

"You were busy," Donna said, her voice starting to rise a little.

"So you were just going to slip a letter of resignation on my desk and steal away in the night?" he said angrily.

"I just told you, I turned it down. And you've got to let that go, damn it. Yes, I left the first campaign, but I came back."

"And you were thinking of leaving again."

"After the campaign," she insisted. "I wouldn't have left before the election."

"But you were thinking of leaving."

"I was just considering the possibilities." Donna threw up her hands in frustration. "Suppose we lost? I needed a job."

"Sooooo?" Josh looked surprised. "You didn't think you'd have a job if we lost? And we're not going to lose, damn it."

"I know we're not going to lose. But suppose we did. It was...it was reassuring to know that I had another job lined up."

"And you didn't think that as long as I have a job, you'd have a job?" he shouted.

"You never said anything," she yelled back.

"I didn't think I had to," Josh stood up and started to pace. "We're not going to lose and of course you'd have a job. Why wouldn't you?"

"But suppose Ritchie won?"

"You've got to stop saying stuff like that. He's not. But you'd still have a job. Somebody's going to hire me and you'd come along."

"As your assistant?"

"Of course," he shouted.

They stared at each other, the silence almost deafening, with words unspoken.

"Let's drop it," Donna said softly. "I didn't take the job."

Josh continued to stare. "You don't want to be my assistant?" he finally asked.

"I wasn't sure I wanted to be just an assistant and was thinking about some options. That's all, Josh," she whispered.

"Are you still thinking about them?" he demanded to know.


	2. Cornered 2

**Cornered**

**by:** Evelyn 

**Category/Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Rating: YTEEN**  
**Disclaimers:** Aaron Sorkin owns everything except Tallulah.  
**Notes:** Special thanks to Shelley for her usual fabulous editing.

* Here's what I don't know...if Josh and Donna are already together. 

* Here's what I do know: If they aren't, they will be soon. 

But I love the idea of a surprising plot twist!! So in this FF, I had some fun and decided to write the backstory of how they got together last summer...just in case Mr. Sorkin needed some suggestions. Enjoy!!

"No. I figured out what I wanted," Donna got up and opened the doors of an old oak wardrobe that was against the wall opposite the sofa. Inside were shelves that held a television, vcr, stereo system, tapes, and cd's. She popped in the 'Star Wars' tape and took her seat next to Josh on the couch.

"Let's watch," and she pressed 'play'.

Josh turned towards the tv, then suddenly reached over, grabbed the remote control and hit 'stop'.

"Josh," she turned and glared at him.

"What did you mean you weren't sure you wanted to be just an assistant?" he persisted.

"Nothing. Don't overanalyze it. I was just considering all the possibilities." Donna grabbed the remote and again pressed 'play'. Josh stared at her for a moment, then turned to watch the tv as the familiar John Williams theme started. As the opening scenes began, he grabbed the remote again from Donna's hand and once more pressed 'stop'.

"What made you change your mind? Why did you decide to stay in DC?"

Donna sighed. "Josh, let it go. I like Washington. I decided I didn't want to move. Now turn on the damn tape," she finished.

He hit 'play' and almost immediately hit 'stop'.

"What do you like about DC?"

She glared at him and crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't know. It's a nice city. I like...I like the monuments...especially the Lincoln Memorial. Now, can we watch the video?" She tried to grab the remote, but he held it up out of her reach.

"The monuments?" he asked skeptically. "You stayed because of the monuments? They've got statues in Boston, you know. They've even got the Freedom Trail."

"I like the Monuments in Washington. I like that none of the buildings can be taller than the Washington Monument. I like the cherry blossoms, Josh. I didn't take the job. Will you drop it already?" she pleaded.

"Okay," he said quietly, and started the tape again.

They watched for about one minute when Josh stopped the movie.

"Joshua," she warned.

"You know," he continued ignoring her protests. "There are three different interpretations to your answer."

She stared at him.

"The first," he said thoughtfully, "is 'I don't want to be an assistant', which could be a career thing. You know, you don't want to be an assistant, but instead want to be a teacher or psychologist or actress. It's nothing personal, but you're rethinking your career choices."

He paused, waiting for a response, and was met with silence and a steely glare from his blonde dinner companion.

"The second," he went on, "is more personal, I'll admit. You could be saying 'I don't want to be *your* assistant. You suck as a boss, Josh Lyman, and I'm moving on'."

He again paused, waiting this time for disagreement, but the silence and glare continued.

He shrugged and plowed on. "Now the third possibility is the most personal. You could be saying," he took a deep breath, " 'I don't want to be *just* your assistant, Josh', suggesting that maybe, just maybe, you might want to be more than *just* my assistant," stressing the word, and looking expectantly at the woman seated next to him on the couch. "So which interpretation is it, Donna?" he asked softly.

The silence continued and Donna looked directly into the eyes of the curly-haired man on the couch, thousands of words exchanged, without a sound being uttered.

He took another deep breath. "You're gonna make me say it first, aren't you?" he said with a tentative smile.

"You betcha," she answered, with a matching grin.

He scooted closer. "If I say it, do you swear Donnatella, on the President's secret campaign strategy book, that you will say something immediately afterwards?"

She nodded.

"Ok, here goes. I don't want you to be *just* my assistant Donnatella. I haven't wanted you to be *just* my assistant for a long time. I have fantasized a million ways you could be more than an assistant, many of those ways happening right on this couch," he grinned. "And looking at that table, I've got a few more ideas for that too. I am crazy about you in a most non-assistantly way."

He paused and waited expectantly, but found instead a smug, satisfied grin on the face of the woman who had moved even closer to him.

"Donnatella," he growled, "You swore."

"Ok," she answered.

"OK?" he yelped indignantly, putting his arms around her.

"Ok, I'm cra..." but before she could finish, he captured her lips with a fast, hard kiss. 

"Close enough. Actions speak louder than words," he muttered, then kissed her again, more softly, pressing his lips to hers and pulling her into his lap. Their tongues met, teasing and dancing with each other. Her hands cupped the back of his neck, playing with the brown curls, while he ran his hands through her blond locks.

They paused to capture their breath, grinned at each other, and began kissing again, drawn to each other like magnets, and desperate to make up for lost time.

"Donnatella," he moaned, moving his hands up and down her back. "I need you in so many ways," he finally whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace and resting his head on her shoulder, then softly kissing the alabaster flesh under her ear and continuing down her neck.

"Joshua," she whispered, arching her neck, wanting more. She leaned back and cupped his face in her hands, searching his eyes, and finding just what she was looking for. "I didn't want to leave Washington because I didn't want to leave you," she finally answered truthfully, then pressed her lips once again to his, revelling in the freedom to touch and be touched.

"I meant it, you know," Josh whispered as they lay down on the couch, facing each other. He feathered kisses over her face, his hands around her waist, beginning to move under her t-shirt.

"What?" she mumbled, her own hands busy unbuttoning his shirt.

Josh stopped and gazed into her eyes. "If you want it, you'll always have a job with me. I don't want you to ever worry about that. I *know* the President is going to win, but even if he doesn't, we'd find something together...if that's what you want," he added shyly.

Donna brushed her hand across his cheek, then leaned in and kissed him softly. "I love working with you. I feel like what we do makes a real difference in people's lives. I don't want to stop. In fact..." she paused.

"In fact, what?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

"In fact, I'm worried that we won't be able to work together once Leo finds out we're...you know," she added shyly.

Josh rolled over onto his back. Donna immediately snuggled into him, her head resting on his chest, his arms over her protectively.

"We need to tell him. CJ's supposed to be the first call. We're both single adults. We're not doing anything wrong."

"I know that. You know that," Donna interrupted, "but it's how it could be painted by others."

"Forget about them. There have been rumors about us for a long time," Josh insisted.

Donna lifted her head and arched an eyebrow at him in question.

"Let's just say I've been questioned about us before," he admitted ruefully.

"And what did you say?"

"That you were *just* my assistant. I never mentioned the un-assistant fantasies I had," he laughed.

Donna grinned and gave what was intended to be a quick kiss, but Josh pulled her closer and deepened it. At last, she pulled away and started to sit up. Josh groaned in protest.

"Listen, let's not tell anyone about us until after the election," she suggested.

"If you think I'm giving up this" and he waved his hand between them, "you're crazy. I just got you horizontal on this couch, there's no way I'm waiting four months..."

"If you hush, you may not have to wait five more minutes," Donna grinned. "I'm just want to keep this between us until after the election. Then we can tell whoever you think we need to tell. I think I can make a contribution to the campaign as your assistant, but if Leo finds out now, he may just transfer me."

Josh was quiet, unconsciously trailing his hand up and down Donna's back. "I don't like keeping secrets. I'm happy that we're together."

"I am too," she whispered. "I know we can make it work professionally and personally, but I don't want to chance it right now. I'm not hiding it because I'm ashamed of our relationship. I just don't want to get caught in the cross-hairs of some public relations nightmare."

"Ok," Josh nodded reluctantly. "We'll keep it between us unless asked directly by Leo or CJ. I'm not lying about us. And as soon as the election is over, we go public. I want you on my arm for the Inauguration festivities," he grinned. Then he sobered and added, "I'll figure out a way for us to work together even after we tell people...that is if you want to."

"I do," Donna said quietly. "I don't want to give that up... and you don't suck as a boss," she grinned. She snuggled back down into his arms.

"And you do know never to schedule me for another meeting with Barney Frank," Josh mumbled, nuzzling her neck.

"On the contrary," Donna objected, finally finishing her unbuttoning task, "I plan to send him a campaign donation tomorrow."

Josh laughed, sat up briefly to shrug off his shirt, and immediately snuggled down again, pulling Donna closer. "Yeah, and I'll send a check to the National Park Service."

Donna looked at him quizzically.

"I just love those Washington monuments," he grinned and grabbed her for another kiss.


End file.
